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The Phd in Rhetoric and Composition at ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ requires a minimum of 45 hours:

• 36 hours of coursework
• 3 hours of professional development seminars
• 6 hours of dissertation

First semester courses for students who are Assistant Instructors and/or enter the program without an M.A. in Rhetoric and Writing Studies (RWS)/RhetComp:

• RWS 5309 - Intro to RWS
• RWS 5346 - Composition Theory and Pedagogy

Students who don't take one or both of these courses will need to take 3-6 hours of additional coursework in the program.

Required Core Courses

• RWS 6310 - Rhetorical History I
• RWS 6311 - Rhetorical History II
• RWS 6319 - Comp Studies
• RWS 6320 - Advanced Critical Theory
• RWS 6321 - Rhetoric and Technology

Elective and Concentration Courses

Four courses. Choose among the following (highly recommended):

• RWS 5306/6306 - Research Methods
• RWS 5311 - Persuasion and Argument
• RWS 5314/6314 - Multimodal Composing
• RWS 5322/6322 - Rhetorical Theory
• RWS 5324/6324 - Writing Program Administration
• RWS 5328/6328 - Special Topics (may be repeated for credit)
• RWS 5383/6383 - Global Rhetorics
• RWS 6385 - Dissertation Preparation

With permission from the Director, you may also select a course from the Technical and Professional Writing certificate program:

• RWS 5312/6312 - Technical Writing
• RWS 5313/6313 - Grant Writing
• RWS 5315/6315 - Professional Writing
• RWS 5317/6317 - Editing

With permission from the Director, you may also select another graduate-level course in the English Department (Literature or English Education), or you may choose an RWS-related course outside of the department.

Required Community Engagement Course

• RWS 5318/6318 - Community Literacy Internship

Required Professional Development Seminars

• RWS 6130 (a one-hour course) must be taken 3 times before graduation, for a total of 3 credit hours.

Required Dissertation (Research) Courses

• RWS 6398 - Dissertation (first semester)
• RWS 6399 - Dissertation (this is taken after 6398 until you graduate)